Rightio I finally found out why I'm still having lingering pain in my knee, there's scar tissue in there. My physio has started breaking it up during my sessions with her so it's painful but my knee is starting to hurt a little less which is a good thing.
With my knee still giving me grief there's no skating to talk about but I've discovered that the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder to ring true. Before this last freak injury I admitted that I was battling the meh's with derby but staying involved with derby in some sort of capacity while I was injured helped me realise how much I missed and still wanted it.
Last Sunday we had a bout condition scrimmage against S2D2's B team the Bewoks. I still haven't scrimmaged with my own league yet since the first knee injury I had months ago so I was NSOing. I was penalty box tracker. It was such a close bout in terms of the scoreline, real edge of the seat stuff, so much so that I was caught up watching the bout and forgot to release Apple from the penalty box so she served a longer time than she was supposed. Yep I fucked up there so I paid a lot more attention to my job after that.
Some decisions by our guys on the track baffled me but as an NSO I had to keep my mouth shut. Mostly I was beaming from ear to ear. I noticed a change in our guys. We do have some recent additions in the way of transfers which have been great additions to the squad, not to mention those stepping up in rankings and making bouting debuts left, right and centre. From what I could see there was more communication on the track and they were working a lot tighter on the track and not leaving the sort of gaps that crucified us in 5x5 this year. The biggest difference was the feel good factor on the bench. There was lots of encouragement when someone did something well on the track and lots of talking. It feels like things are on the up ever since the bout against Inner West at 5x5 which is great to see, hopefully they can continue that at ERRD.
There was a period in the second half where our guys started picking up a few penalties but for the most part it felt as though the penalty rates were a lot lower than what they were for most of the 5x5. It was the best I'd ever seen Lola bout. I was fangirling Cherry as much as I do Jilla at the NRDL bouts, she was effective, destructive and just utterly amazing. The likes of Butters and Betty have made ridiculously high levels of improvement and prove what hard work and dedication achieve, they're amazing the both of them.
At the end of scrimmage Rex handed me a questionnaire to fill out about our home teams for next year. a) we're having home teams next year and b) I'll be involved like actually bouting :D One of the questions on the form was who do you think you work best with? Rex said I couldn't put Jilla as the answer, cheeky fucker! If Jac was still with us I would have put her name down every day of the week. Truth is with all my injuries I haven't been able to form another partnership on the track with anyone because of all the down time I've had.
I've never hidden the fact that I love NRDL but nothing would make me more prouder than lining up on the track for my league whether it's home teams or the kazi's. I'm itching to get back to training on Sunday and work my way up to put myself into contention for bouting.
My original plan this weekend was to fly up to Brisbane to watch the Dames bout against NBR but since I won both Brig and Jilla's jackets in the auction the money that was supposed to cover the costs of this weekend went into the jackets instead. There's still ERRD and their bout on the 12th. Instead I'll probably watching the WSR vs BMRDL bout instead. That's the beauty of derby there's usually no shortage of bouts to watch!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
That winning feeling.
Stop me if you've heard this before...so I was back on skates after my latest knee injury ;) At the risk of sounding like a broken record it did happen last Friday night. My knee still wasn't 100% but I had my clearance letter from my physio. It was all off skates training initially. We worked up to doing hipchecks and can openers in pairs. When it comes to hipchecks I've been taught two different ways - the 'washing machine' way and stepping down and up. I've found the second way is more effective and allows me to keep my balance. I was partnered up with Toad which was a good test because he didn't hold back at all. I was getting the right target zones but the bloody annoying thing is that I can't replicate this form on skates.
I had to laugh when Matron (who has been off skates for a while) asked me how I handled being off skates from all the injuries I've had. I've just been driven to try and fulfil the derby goal I've held since October 2010, doesn't mean I haven't been pissed off or sworn when I was off injured :)
Even now I still haven't got full movement in my knee and I'm still having some pain when I move it a particular way, it's just frustrating that it's still impeding me. With two successive knee injuries and forced time off I've noticed the self doubt start to creep back in. I see everyone around me improve bucketloads and think I'm constantly slipping backwards, forever playing catch up. I know in the past that I've let this sort of thinking fester and get worse so I've tried to reign it in before it gets worse. I've gone back to what worked for me in the first part of the year before I had that first knee injury. It was in that time that I made my biggest improvement to date so I'm hoping it works out for me again if I take the same approach.
Roll on Saturday and it was onto the big issue that everyone was talking about: NRDL grand final day! I can't believe I'm saying this but as the day drew closer I was starting to get nervous, not too far off from how I feel whenever Liverpool plays. The night started off weird enough as I found myself cheering for the Hellcats. Yep you read that right, yeah I can't believe it either. Before you think I've completely lost my marbles it was only because they were bouting S2D2, a non-NRDL team. It was cool to be able to cheer on individual players like Kell, Tox, Missy and Beaver and not worry about the impact they were having on my team. First half saw the Hellcats in control and it reflected on the scoreline. There was one person who was missing big time, their regular commentator Mal. NRDL bouts and Mal go hand in hand. This other commentator tried but he's no Mal.
At half time they announced the winners of the Dockyard Dames jacket auction. It was one of the few times that I've wanted to hear my name said out, and it happened not once but twice as I won both Brig and Jilla's jackets. HAPPY DAYS! When I went to get the jackets I found out I was also getting smaller versions of the Brig and Jilla posters from the Line up auction. Given the fact that I won the massive Jilla poster in the last auction, I've basically got the Russian Dolls equivalent of Jilla posters to go with the signed Jilla postcard hehe. As a collector of player issue Liverpool memorabilia I love the fact that I can add derby related memorabilia to that collection, even moreso that it was from two of my favourite three skaters. Lastly the NRDL guys have helped me out a lot especially this year with skating and advice even though I'm not a member of their league so it was nice to be able to give something back to them by bidding on the jackets. Jilla the smart arse asked if I had enough jackets. I should have asked her if she wanted her jacket back ;)
To be honest the second half of the Hellcats bout was a blur because I was still on a high from the auction wins. I know S2D2 came back brilliantly and even managed to hit the lead for the first time towards the end of the bout but the Hellcats clawed back and with a few power jams finished off S2D2 in the very last jam of the bout.
I was an absolute bundle of nerves before the Smashleys bout kicked off, heaven knows how the skaters felt. The Smashos were short on numbers with the likes of Glitter and Broken both injured but considering how tight they've played throughout the year, if they managed to stay out of the penalty box as much as possible and give away free points then they'd definately be in with a shout even with the firepower that the Bogeys held in their ranks. The Bogeys opened up a slight lead but once the Smashleys got the lead they never gave it up. The Smashleys had bit of a brain fart moment in the second half where their players were starting to spend more time in the penalty box than on the track that almost allowed the Bogeys back in. I was thinking 'calm the fuck down' but that might have been as much for my benefit as it was for them.
Bias aside despite giving away a numerical advantage to the Bogeys the Smashos played the game to perfection. Quick jams when they had lead to conserve energy, mostly staying out of the penalty box, lots of low risk BUT effective blocking and they just played as a team. I thought Tootsie had her best ever performance for the Smashos. The jammers Babycakes, Dutchess and especially Hollie who was well deserved MVP more than made up the gap left by Broken's absence, hell even Jilla jammed once which always gets a big cheer from the crowd. For me the Dutchess and Hollie have had a standout rookie season for my team, they fitted in seamlessly. What else can I possibly say about Jilla that I haven't already said a million times before? Yet another awesome display by her. I wonder if she's forgotten how to skate facing the direction that most skaters face due to all her backwards blocking. Regardless, given how effective her backwards blocking is and how she conducts her side on where to be due to her great view point was once again instrumental. It amazes me that just about everyone gets drawn to her standing up tall and playing right into her hands. It's probably easer said than done given her rugby background but I'd have thought you'd have more luck shifting her out of the way by doing a can opener while facing her direction. The only tactic that I've seen work to counteract her backwards blocking is when she gets double teamed. Even then I lost count of how many times she deliberately blocked a Bogeys blocker who then took out their own jammer from the impact of Jilla's hit, such a genius tactic.
One of things I've learnt after being a lifetime Liverpool supporter is patience. Just because the Smashleys lost all the previous seasons to the Hellcats it didn't mean I would jump ship. When I pick a team, they're my team for life regardless of how well or crap they go results wise. Given the near misses in the past and the amazing foundation they built this season I was absolutely made up that my smashos finally got rewarded for all their efforts by lifting the trophy this season. I was proud as punch for them!!
I may have been in fan mode on Saturday night but I tracked down the people who filmed both bouts so I've organised to have a copy sent to me so that I can bout write up's from the footage which will be a new experience for me. We'll see how they turn out.
I had to laugh when Matron (who has been off skates for a while) asked me how I handled being off skates from all the injuries I've had. I've just been driven to try and fulfil the derby goal I've held since October 2010, doesn't mean I haven't been pissed off or sworn when I was off injured :)
Even now I still haven't got full movement in my knee and I'm still having some pain when I move it a particular way, it's just frustrating that it's still impeding me. With two successive knee injuries and forced time off I've noticed the self doubt start to creep back in. I see everyone around me improve bucketloads and think I'm constantly slipping backwards, forever playing catch up. I know in the past that I've let this sort of thinking fester and get worse so I've tried to reign it in before it gets worse. I've gone back to what worked for me in the first part of the year before I had that first knee injury. It was in that time that I made my biggest improvement to date so I'm hoping it works out for me again if I take the same approach.
Roll on Saturday and it was onto the big issue that everyone was talking about: NRDL grand final day! I can't believe I'm saying this but as the day drew closer I was starting to get nervous, not too far off from how I feel whenever Liverpool plays. The night started off weird enough as I found myself cheering for the Hellcats. Yep you read that right, yeah I can't believe it either. Before you think I've completely lost my marbles it was only because they were bouting S2D2, a non-NRDL team. It was cool to be able to cheer on individual players like Kell, Tox, Missy and Beaver and not worry about the impact they were having on my team. First half saw the Hellcats in control and it reflected on the scoreline. There was one person who was missing big time, their regular commentator Mal. NRDL bouts and Mal go hand in hand. This other commentator tried but he's no Mal.
At half time they announced the winners of the Dockyard Dames jacket auction. It was one of the few times that I've wanted to hear my name said out, and it happened not once but twice as I won both Brig and Jilla's jackets. HAPPY DAYS! When I went to get the jackets I found out I was also getting smaller versions of the Brig and Jilla posters from the Line up auction. Given the fact that I won the massive Jilla poster in the last auction, I've basically got the Russian Dolls equivalent of Jilla posters to go with the signed Jilla postcard hehe. As a collector of player issue Liverpool memorabilia I love the fact that I can add derby related memorabilia to that collection, even moreso that it was from two of my favourite three skaters. Lastly the NRDL guys have helped me out a lot especially this year with skating and advice even though I'm not a member of their league so it was nice to be able to give something back to them by bidding on the jackets. Jilla the smart arse asked if I had enough jackets. I should have asked her if she wanted her jacket back ;)
To be honest the second half of the Hellcats bout was a blur because I was still on a high from the auction wins. I know S2D2 came back brilliantly and even managed to hit the lead for the first time towards the end of the bout but the Hellcats clawed back and with a few power jams finished off S2D2 in the very last jam of the bout.
I was an absolute bundle of nerves before the Smashleys bout kicked off, heaven knows how the skaters felt. The Smashos were short on numbers with the likes of Glitter and Broken both injured but considering how tight they've played throughout the year, if they managed to stay out of the penalty box as much as possible and give away free points then they'd definately be in with a shout even with the firepower that the Bogeys held in their ranks. The Bogeys opened up a slight lead but once the Smashleys got the lead they never gave it up. The Smashleys had bit of a brain fart moment in the second half where their players were starting to spend more time in the penalty box than on the track that almost allowed the Bogeys back in. I was thinking 'calm the fuck down' but that might have been as much for my benefit as it was for them.
Bias aside despite giving away a numerical advantage to the Bogeys the Smashos played the game to perfection. Quick jams when they had lead to conserve energy, mostly staying out of the penalty box, lots of low risk BUT effective blocking and they just played as a team. I thought Tootsie had her best ever performance for the Smashos. The jammers Babycakes, Dutchess and especially Hollie who was well deserved MVP more than made up the gap left by Broken's absence, hell even Jilla jammed once which always gets a big cheer from the crowd. For me the Dutchess and Hollie have had a standout rookie season for my team, they fitted in seamlessly. What else can I possibly say about Jilla that I haven't already said a million times before? Yet another awesome display by her. I wonder if she's forgotten how to skate facing the direction that most skaters face due to all her backwards blocking. Regardless, given how effective her backwards blocking is and how she conducts her side on where to be due to her great view point was once again instrumental. It amazes me that just about everyone gets drawn to her standing up tall and playing right into her hands. It's probably easer said than done given her rugby background but I'd have thought you'd have more luck shifting her out of the way by doing a can opener while facing her direction. The only tactic that I've seen work to counteract her backwards blocking is when she gets double teamed. Even then I lost count of how many times she deliberately blocked a Bogeys blocker who then took out their own jammer from the impact of Jilla's hit, such a genius tactic.
One of things I've learnt after being a lifetime Liverpool supporter is patience. Just because the Smashleys lost all the previous seasons to the Hellcats it didn't mean I would jump ship. When I pick a team, they're my team for life regardless of how well or crap they go results wise. Given the near misses in the past and the amazing foundation they built this season I was absolutely made up that my smashos finally got rewarded for all their efforts by lifting the trophy this season. I was proud as punch for them!!
I may have been in fan mode on Saturday night but I tracked down the people who filmed both bouts so I've organised to have a copy sent to me so that I can bout write up's from the footage which will be a new experience for me. We'll see how they turn out.
Monday, September 2, 2013
I so didn't see that coming...
To say I was shitting bricks about my latest knee injury was a massive understatement. I was in more pain with this injury than my last one which kept me off skates for nearly 3 months. For the first few nights I was waking up during the night in pain. Although I looked stupid attempting to try to bend my knee in a proper walking motion, I was sort of walking albeit painfully by Wednesday arvo.
I headed into the physio expecting the worst outcome. It did hurt a bit when she worked on my knee but it wasn't excrutiating thankfully. I finally asked her the question I had been dreading since I injured it on Sunday 'Was this injury going to keep me out as long as my previous knee injury?' To my shock she said no. It was a different injury to the previous one. She said my MCL felt intact but that I had probably torn fibres in the surrounding tissue of the MCL from the fall. This sort of injury should only keep me off skates for a couple of weeks. I trust my physio but I was wondering if she had smoked crack when she told me that because I still couldn't walk properly. The solution was I had to work on bending my knee, so it was basically grit your teeth and walk through the pain barrier, as much as it has sucked it has helped because I'm moving more freely and in less pain.
If all goes well with my physio on Thursday I may be back on skates this week! If you told me that last Sunday I wouldn't have believed you but there you go maybe I'm finally having some good fortune with derby so there's still a chance I might get to fulfill those derby goals of mine by the end of the year! My biggest fear? By the time I eventually get to interleague level all my favourite skaters will have probably retired from the sport. I'm hoping I can have a good solid run and work my up to the final testing level and push on and fight for a spot on the kazis.
These last two knee injuries I had was when I was working on drills with Cherry. In no way was it her fault, it was just a shit coincidence. She offered that maybe in the future we don't partner up in drills. I know she's only looking out for me but I flat out told her that wasn't happening. I won't take the easy way out. If I can't hack it at training then I sure as shit won't hack it in a bout. I've lost count of how many times I heard my team mates say that it's bit of a shock when they first started bouting interleague because skaters in other leagues don't hold back so I don't want to be caught out when I finally start bouting for the 'kazis.
After having a chat with my physio it finally sunk in that I'm going to be limited to what I can do. I had some great non-derby sports and exercises that I wanted to start getting into but my knee isn't going to cope with both derby and all these other things I had lined up which was pretty crushing because I love challenging myself and pushing myself to my limits to see what I can and can't do. Now it's just a matter of finding alternatives and hoping I enjoy them as much as my original plans.
It's twitchy bum time. It's the NRDL home season final this Saturday. My Smashos have managed to go undefeated in the regular season and they're one win away from finally lifting up the trophy. Not only that, they're also announcing the winners of the Dames jackets. I've been told that I'm facing stiff competition for Jilla's jacket so now I'm feeling nervy about my bid. Hurry up Saturday and put me out of my misery! I'm finally setting aside some time for derby write up's so I aim to have three NRDL bout write up's to be done and uploaded on RDAU this week. I'm unsure if I'll do one for the grand final, it deserves to have a write up especially after the season that's unfolded but at the same time I want to go ape shit on the sidelines cheering on my team. Decisions, decisions. I found out that the Hellcats will be bouting S2D2 in a mini bout before the final. This feels so wrong but I will actually be cheering on the Hellcats only because they're bouting a non-NRDL team. Excuse me while I wash my mouth out with soap :)
I headed into the physio expecting the worst outcome. It did hurt a bit when she worked on my knee but it wasn't excrutiating thankfully. I finally asked her the question I had been dreading since I injured it on Sunday 'Was this injury going to keep me out as long as my previous knee injury?' To my shock she said no. It was a different injury to the previous one. She said my MCL felt intact but that I had probably torn fibres in the surrounding tissue of the MCL from the fall. This sort of injury should only keep me off skates for a couple of weeks. I trust my physio but I was wondering if she had smoked crack when she told me that because I still couldn't walk properly. The solution was I had to work on bending my knee, so it was basically grit your teeth and walk through the pain barrier, as much as it has sucked it has helped because I'm moving more freely and in less pain.
If all goes well with my physio on Thursday I may be back on skates this week! If you told me that last Sunday I wouldn't have believed you but there you go maybe I'm finally having some good fortune with derby so there's still a chance I might get to fulfill those derby goals of mine by the end of the year! My biggest fear? By the time I eventually get to interleague level all my favourite skaters will have probably retired from the sport. I'm hoping I can have a good solid run and work my up to the final testing level and push on and fight for a spot on the kazis.
These last two knee injuries I had was when I was working on drills with Cherry. In no way was it her fault, it was just a shit coincidence. She offered that maybe in the future we don't partner up in drills. I know she's only looking out for me but I flat out told her that wasn't happening. I won't take the easy way out. If I can't hack it at training then I sure as shit won't hack it in a bout. I've lost count of how many times I heard my team mates say that it's bit of a shock when they first started bouting interleague because skaters in other leagues don't hold back so I don't want to be caught out when I finally start bouting for the 'kazis.
After having a chat with my physio it finally sunk in that I'm going to be limited to what I can do. I had some great non-derby sports and exercises that I wanted to start getting into but my knee isn't going to cope with both derby and all these other things I had lined up which was pretty crushing because I love challenging myself and pushing myself to my limits to see what I can and can't do. Now it's just a matter of finding alternatives and hoping I enjoy them as much as my original plans.
It's twitchy bum time. It's the NRDL home season final this Saturday. My Smashos have managed to go undefeated in the regular season and they're one win away from finally lifting up the trophy. Not only that, they're also announcing the winners of the Dames jackets. I've been told that I'm facing stiff competition for Jilla's jacket so now I'm feeling nervy about my bid. Hurry up Saturday and put me out of my misery! I'm finally setting aside some time for derby write up's so I aim to have three NRDL bout write up's to be done and uploaded on RDAU this week. I'm unsure if I'll do one for the grand final, it deserves to have a write up especially after the season that's unfolded but at the same time I want to go ape shit on the sidelines cheering on my team. Decisions, decisions. I found out that the Hellcats will be bouting S2D2 in a mini bout before the final. This feels so wrong but I will actually be cheering on the Hellcats only because they're bouting a non-NRDL team. Excuse me while I wash my mouth out with soap :)
Monday, August 26, 2013
Battling the meh's
I've completed derby blasphemy the last few weeks and from what I hear from others it's quite common in derby. Real life issues have mentally drained me the last few weeks that I haven't felt anything for derby. I know I should stop swearing but it's true. I lost all motivation for derby and my attendance became erratic. I was feeling flat in general and it spread to derby which took me by surprise because there was so much to look forward to derby wise in the coming months. I got told on Saturday night that I had been cleared by the relevant committee folk to resume scrimmage so I thought that it might help snap me out of the funk I was in.
I had a chat with Cherry before training to explain my recent poor attendance and she was a great help. I felt better and more focussed after the chat. Stunt Muffin, now merby extraordinaire came back to have a training session with us which was awesome because I miss training with him. Not only that I was going to get to scrimmage again!
First drill for the night we had to partner up. The purpose of the drill was one would get blocked and fall even if they weren't hit hard enough to fall because it was all about jammer recovery rate and then we'd swap, the jammer would become the blocker and repeat. Simple enough. I partnered up with Cherry which was cool because I know she'd challenge me (ie: kick my arse) and I wouldn't have to hold back on her. It was going alright, it was her turn to block me again and honestly it wasn't even a hard block, she smashed me harder with a few of her earlier attempts but I found myself heading straight for a goal post from the indoor soccer goal that I had visions of having this happen to me
so I ended up getting caught in two minds as I was going down so instead of going into a double knee fall I landed on the inside of my knees almost frog like. I was doubling over not just in pain but I just *knew* the second the pain ripped through my right knee that I just re-damaged it all over again. Janine and Kaley were the first aid officers and they did their best to help me which was nice of them. I eventually got up off the floor and hobbled to the bench to elevate and ice my knee.
I was sitting on the sidelines with my hoodie on absolutely shattered with what just happened especially since I worked so bloody hard to get back on skates and back to scrimmaging after the last knee injury kept me sidelined for months. I had a few team mates come up and ask me how I was doing and I remember telling them I couldn't do this anymore and that I felt like quitting, I was feeling completely dejected. I couldn't take sitting there anymore so I started hobbling to the car. I was looking at my helmet while I was leaving the venue and questioned myself whether I'd ever bout for HARD and if I'd ever bout against the Dames and Smashleys.
About half way home I had that light bulb moment when I realised I was looking at this situation the wrong way. Yeah I was understandably disappointed that I was looking at another lengthy injury lay off but the truth is that I've lived through something that no one should have to go through and I've started coming through the other side with that, derby and its setbacks pale in comparison. If my other situation has taught me anything it's that I'm a survivor and fighter, it's probably played a huge part in why I haven't quit derby in the past. There was to be no quitting, I already shown that I could come back from a lengthy knee injury and get back to up to scrimmaging so I could do it again with the right rehab work and mentality.
I can't control what happened but I control how I go forward from here. I've booked in a session with my physio on Thursday to see how bad the damage is. I don't think I've broken anything but I'm pretty certain my MCL is screwed again. I couldn't bend my knee at all this morning but as I hobbled to my car this afternoon I was starting bending it ever so slightly before the pain stopped me from bending it any further. No idea if my derby season is over for the year, watch this space.
Danger said it best when she told me a while back 'Stupid knees can go eat a dick!' Never were truer words spoken!
I had a chat with Cherry before training to explain my recent poor attendance and she was a great help. I felt better and more focussed after the chat. Stunt Muffin, now merby extraordinaire came back to have a training session with us which was awesome because I miss training with him. Not only that I was going to get to scrimmage again!
First drill for the night we had to partner up. The purpose of the drill was one would get blocked and fall even if they weren't hit hard enough to fall because it was all about jammer recovery rate and then we'd swap, the jammer would become the blocker and repeat. Simple enough. I partnered up with Cherry which was cool because I know she'd challenge me (ie: kick my arse) and I wouldn't have to hold back on her. It was going alright, it was her turn to block me again and honestly it wasn't even a hard block, she smashed me harder with a few of her earlier attempts but I found myself heading straight for a goal post from the indoor soccer goal that I had visions of having this happen to me
so I ended up getting caught in two minds as I was going down so instead of going into a double knee fall I landed on the inside of my knees almost frog like. I was doubling over not just in pain but I just *knew* the second the pain ripped through my right knee that I just re-damaged it all over again. Janine and Kaley were the first aid officers and they did their best to help me which was nice of them. I eventually got up off the floor and hobbled to the bench to elevate and ice my knee.
I was sitting on the sidelines with my hoodie on absolutely shattered with what just happened especially since I worked so bloody hard to get back on skates and back to scrimmaging after the last knee injury kept me sidelined for months. I had a few team mates come up and ask me how I was doing and I remember telling them I couldn't do this anymore and that I felt like quitting, I was feeling completely dejected. I couldn't take sitting there anymore so I started hobbling to the car. I was looking at my helmet while I was leaving the venue and questioned myself whether I'd ever bout for HARD and if I'd ever bout against the Dames and Smashleys.
About half way home I had that light bulb moment when I realised I was looking at this situation the wrong way. Yeah I was understandably disappointed that I was looking at another lengthy injury lay off but the truth is that I've lived through something that no one should have to go through and I've started coming through the other side with that, derby and its setbacks pale in comparison. If my other situation has taught me anything it's that I'm a survivor and fighter, it's probably played a huge part in why I haven't quit derby in the past. There was to be no quitting, I already shown that I could come back from a lengthy knee injury and get back to up to scrimmaging so I could do it again with the right rehab work and mentality.
I can't control what happened but I control how I go forward from here. I've booked in a session with my physio on Thursday to see how bad the damage is. I don't think I've broken anything but I'm pretty certain my MCL is screwed again. I couldn't bend my knee at all this morning but as I hobbled to my car this afternoon I was starting bending it ever so slightly before the pain stopped me from bending it any further. No idea if my derby season is over for the year, watch this space.
Danger said it best when she told me a while back 'Stupid knees can go eat a dick!' Never were truer words spoken!
Monday, August 19, 2013
Hmmm...
Nothing like a bit of good news to start off this post. I went to the physio post city to surf last week to work out the knots in my calves and at the end of the session she said I didn't need to book anymore appointments for my knee because I haven't had any setbacks since I went back to training WOO HOO! It was definately a confidence booster.
As I turned up to training yesterday Rex told me that I was going to be assessed by the head ref to see if I was safe to go back to scrimmaging. I was going to be watched while I was participating in the blocking and jamming drills. How exciting! I gave it my best shot, whether it was enough or not remains to be seen. If I flunked it just means I need more time to adjust back to full training again.
I had a lot of fun when we had to do a paceline and hip check everyone on our way through. I haven't done a hip check since before my injury so I was a little rusty, some attempts were better than others. Once again I struggled against Cherry when I had to hip check her. It has fuck all to do with the fact she's one of my fav skaters. I know her skills are superior to mine but there has been on the rare occassion skaters getting past her on the track. The million dollar question is HOW? The highlight of my night? Lola attempting to hip check me off the track, instead she basically bounced off me with a priceless look on her face thinking what just happened. Lola is known for hard blocking. My counteracting blocking strength is slowly coming back folks :D
We worked in three's with one of us blocking a jammer off the track and then being blocked off the track by an opposing blocker so that the jammer could get back on the track in front of the person who initally forced them off. This drill was a lot of fun especially when I ended up in Butter's group. After a while it started becoming a little mechanical so Butters started changing it up a bit that a lot of us (me mostly) kept getting pulled up for track cuts when I was jammer because I wasn't paying attention to her track position so it made me think more which was a good thing.
I attempted Russian circles for the first time which was really cool. A lot of work required to improve it but I'm going to enjoy practising this one in my own time. I've actually noticed a difference in attitude in myself lately. Whenever I've struggled with a particular skill I'd get the shit's with myself but now it doesn't matter if I have to practise a skill a thousand times until I learn it, I'll do it because I want to continue to improve and learn.
It's also why I'm seeing the benefits of doing things like city to surf brings to derby for me. It's the physical and mental challenge to keep going right until the end and not to defeat myself. I may not be the most skillful skater but I would literally have to be broken for me to quit before the final whistle and even then I'd be trying to see if it was somehow possible to get back on the track :) With an endless supply of races/ fun runs throughout the year I have no shortage of off skates training and strengthening.
Derby wise things are getting better each week that it's nice to be working towards all the little and big goals I've got in place for myself for the rest of the year. Even away from derby things are going well. I've finally tackled issues that I've avoided for years and ended up lifting a huge weight off my shoulders in the process so that the positive aspects are spreading to all areas of my life, including derby. So there's lots of reasons to smile about and keep working my arse off for :D Still hoping we get to scrimmage against NRDL by the end of the year...dammit I almost lasted a full post without mentioning it :P
As I turned up to training yesterday Rex told me that I was going to be assessed by the head ref to see if I was safe to go back to scrimmaging. I was going to be watched while I was participating in the blocking and jamming drills. How exciting! I gave it my best shot, whether it was enough or not remains to be seen. If I flunked it just means I need more time to adjust back to full training again.
I had a lot of fun when we had to do a paceline and hip check everyone on our way through. I haven't done a hip check since before my injury so I was a little rusty, some attempts were better than others. Once again I struggled against Cherry when I had to hip check her. It has fuck all to do with the fact she's one of my fav skaters. I know her skills are superior to mine but there has been on the rare occassion skaters getting past her on the track. The million dollar question is HOW? The highlight of my night? Lola attempting to hip check me off the track, instead she basically bounced off me with a priceless look on her face thinking what just happened. Lola is known for hard blocking. My counteracting blocking strength is slowly coming back folks :D
We worked in three's with one of us blocking a jammer off the track and then being blocked off the track by an opposing blocker so that the jammer could get back on the track in front of the person who initally forced them off. This drill was a lot of fun especially when I ended up in Butter's group. After a while it started becoming a little mechanical so Butters started changing it up a bit that a lot of us (me mostly) kept getting pulled up for track cuts when I was jammer because I wasn't paying attention to her track position so it made me think more which was a good thing.
I attempted Russian circles for the first time which was really cool. A lot of work required to improve it but I'm going to enjoy practising this one in my own time. I've actually noticed a difference in attitude in myself lately. Whenever I've struggled with a particular skill I'd get the shit's with myself but now it doesn't matter if I have to practise a skill a thousand times until I learn it, I'll do it because I want to continue to improve and learn.
It's also why I'm seeing the benefits of doing things like city to surf brings to derby for me. It's the physical and mental challenge to keep going right until the end and not to defeat myself. I may not be the most skillful skater but I would literally have to be broken for me to quit before the final whistle and even then I'd be trying to see if it was somehow possible to get back on the track :) With an endless supply of races/ fun runs throughout the year I have no shortage of off skates training and strengthening.
Derby wise things are getting better each week that it's nice to be working towards all the little and big goals I've got in place for myself for the rest of the year. Even away from derby things are going well. I've finally tackled issues that I've avoided for years and ended up lifting a huge weight off my shoulders in the process so that the positive aspects are spreading to all areas of my life, including derby. So there's lots of reasons to smile about and keep working my arse off for :D Still hoping we get to scrimmage against NRDL by the end of the year...dammit I almost lasted a full post without mentioning it :P
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Word of advice
Last Tuesday night saw my first ever advanced training session. I'd been to quite a few throughout the year but that was off skates when Poz and I would work out benching stuff when we used to bench for the kazi's. When I walked into the school hall on Tuesday night I did have that thought 'is this really happening?' running in my head. The venue we train at on Tuesday's is different to the one we usually train at. I've heard that some of my team mates have mentioned in the past that they're not huge fans of the floor because it's a lot more slippery than our usual training venue. I personally loved it because it was different. I know once I start bouting at other venues they'll have different floors so I'll have to adjust to that quick smart. A more slippery floor means giving your agility skills a good workout so it's a good thing.
Punkie ran us through all sorts of drills, some I did for the first time like backwards weaving through cones. Although my backwards skating has improved and I'm getting a bit faster at them everyone else kicked my arse in the relays we did. I know that the more I practise, the closer I'll get to keeping up with the rest of them eventually. It hit me during training that I didn't care how stupid I looked or how many times I stacked it I was being pushed outside my comfort zone and it was all helping me get closer to my goals. Through all that my body decided it was too much awesomeness for one night that both of my calves cramped during the training session so I had to take it a bit easier towards the end but I survived my first Tuesday training session! I was on such a post training high that I only got four hours sleep that night which made work the next day that bit more challenging!
During the week Danger messaged me out of the blue and offered me some advice on tackling skills that I was having trouble. It was a different way to how I usually approach things but I thought I'd give it a crack the next chance I had to see if it worked.
If Tuesday was jumping out of my skin about training, Friday was the complete opposite. I know I'm not the first person to experience this but it had been a shit week away from derby that I really wasn't arsed about going to training, blasphemy I know. All day right up until I got home from work I kept changing my mind about whether to go to training or not. I knew that once I got ready and left the house that I'd go to training so that's what I did. Once I was there I was all good and got stuck in. I'm sure this happens to a lot of people from time to time. I'm glad I stuck it out and went to training because I'm sure it got me a step closer to going back to scrimmage.
The session was all about walls, building, maintaining and trying to get through them. I've known for a long time that I'm really shite with offensive blocking, I just don't have the ability to break through walls yet and I don't really know why. Is it lack of confidence, not picking the right moment, not using my body to its maximum effect or something else?
Saturday morning I headed up to Newy for my first social skate since my knee injury. I loved having a skate with Cass again. She was awesome enough to tell me about the training session they had the previous night with a speed skater and passed on some tips that she got from the training session. this is why I don't mind the 2 hour drive up there because there's always someone there to offer me help or advice that it becomes another training session for me.
I decided to try out Danger's advice and started tackling transitions on the inside. It took a while but once I stopped overthinking and started following Danger's advice it worked I started transitioning on the inside!!! I couldn't believe how quickly it worked. Thank you Danger!
I headed back to Sydney to get ready and make my way to the 5x5 double header final. I ended up missing the first 15 minutes of Blue Mountains vs Inner West. I predicted a Blue Mountains win but I was surprised by the score. Blue Mountains were playing like they were in first gear and they weren't using Mis Behave as jammer which was strange. Inner West as always were giving it their all but it wasn't enough as BM did enough to win it. I was a bit puzzled why the ref's weren't calling out of play especially by one Inner West player in particular. I was sitting in the grandstand but even I could see when the Inner West jammer gave herself a whip off a BM blocker to get around her. How that wasn't called as a penalty I'll never know.
The second bout took most of us by surprise. I thought Central Coast were going to win but South Side blew them away right from the beginning and kept applying the blow torch for the rest of the bout. My favourite moment had to have been when Kiki Chaos came back onto the track after being in the penalty box she absolutely nailed an S2D2 blocker who was in a sausage line on the track then on the next bend she poleaxed the S2D2 jammer. It's why I can't wait to bout her one day because it'll be so bloody tough but just as much fun. Kiki's ace :)
I was chatting to Ivy at the bout and she mentioned she wanted to link this blog onto the RDAU website because she likes the personal approach and she thinks other people out there can relate to it. I told her most of my posts go something like this One week - I got injured AGAIN, screw you derby you're not going to get the better of me. I'm such a fangirl of Brig, Cherry and Jilla. Man I would love to bout NRDL one day. I went up to Newy on the weekend for a bout and/or social skate. Next week - Yay back on skates, I got the better of this latest injury. I headed up to Newy again for a skate and/or bout. Jilla's freaking awesome, did I mention I want to bout against NRDL one day...and repeat :P Sound familiar haha. Do people really relate to that?
I may have some ridiculously high derby goals I'd love to achieve by the end of the year but there's some amazing opportunities coming up that'll hopefully help me get there. Apart from my normal training I've lined up a day to have some one on one training with Jilla, she won't tell me what she has in mind so I have no idea what she plans on teaching me, there's a few intraleague scrimmages HARD have with other leagues that I'll be able to participate in if i get my clearance to scrimmage, Candy said I can come up and scrimmage with her guys at CKO and Danger's in the process of trying to organise a bootcamp between us, Newy and WIRD which may involve scrimmage at the end of it. Read that I might get the chance to scrimmage with my guys against NRDL. I started the year training with NRDL, imagine ending the year scrimmaging against them? Mind blown just thinking about it :)
Punkie ran us through all sorts of drills, some I did for the first time like backwards weaving through cones. Although my backwards skating has improved and I'm getting a bit faster at them everyone else kicked my arse in the relays we did. I know that the more I practise, the closer I'll get to keeping up with the rest of them eventually. It hit me during training that I didn't care how stupid I looked or how many times I stacked it I was being pushed outside my comfort zone and it was all helping me get closer to my goals. Through all that my body decided it was too much awesomeness for one night that both of my calves cramped during the training session so I had to take it a bit easier towards the end but I survived my first Tuesday training session! I was on such a post training high that I only got four hours sleep that night which made work the next day that bit more challenging!
During the week Danger messaged me out of the blue and offered me some advice on tackling skills that I was having trouble. It was a different way to how I usually approach things but I thought I'd give it a crack the next chance I had to see if it worked.
If Tuesday was jumping out of my skin about training, Friday was the complete opposite. I know I'm not the first person to experience this but it had been a shit week away from derby that I really wasn't arsed about going to training, blasphemy I know. All day right up until I got home from work I kept changing my mind about whether to go to training or not. I knew that once I got ready and left the house that I'd go to training so that's what I did. Once I was there I was all good and got stuck in. I'm sure this happens to a lot of people from time to time. I'm glad I stuck it out and went to training because I'm sure it got me a step closer to going back to scrimmage.
The session was all about walls, building, maintaining and trying to get through them. I've known for a long time that I'm really shite with offensive blocking, I just don't have the ability to break through walls yet and I don't really know why. Is it lack of confidence, not picking the right moment, not using my body to its maximum effect or something else?
Saturday morning I headed up to Newy for my first social skate since my knee injury. I loved having a skate with Cass again. She was awesome enough to tell me about the training session they had the previous night with a speed skater and passed on some tips that she got from the training session. this is why I don't mind the 2 hour drive up there because there's always someone there to offer me help or advice that it becomes another training session for me.
I decided to try out Danger's advice and started tackling transitions on the inside. It took a while but once I stopped overthinking and started following Danger's advice it worked I started transitioning on the inside!!! I couldn't believe how quickly it worked. Thank you Danger!
I headed back to Sydney to get ready and make my way to the 5x5 double header final. I ended up missing the first 15 minutes of Blue Mountains vs Inner West. I predicted a Blue Mountains win but I was surprised by the score. Blue Mountains were playing like they were in first gear and they weren't using Mis Behave as jammer which was strange. Inner West as always were giving it their all but it wasn't enough as BM did enough to win it. I was a bit puzzled why the ref's weren't calling out of play especially by one Inner West player in particular. I was sitting in the grandstand but even I could see when the Inner West jammer gave herself a whip off a BM blocker to get around her. How that wasn't called as a penalty I'll never know.
The second bout took most of us by surprise. I thought Central Coast were going to win but South Side blew them away right from the beginning and kept applying the blow torch for the rest of the bout. My favourite moment had to have been when Kiki Chaos came back onto the track after being in the penalty box she absolutely nailed an S2D2 blocker who was in a sausage line on the track then on the next bend she poleaxed the S2D2 jammer. It's why I can't wait to bout her one day because it'll be so bloody tough but just as much fun. Kiki's ace :)
I was chatting to Ivy at the bout and she mentioned she wanted to link this blog onto the RDAU website because she likes the personal approach and she thinks other people out there can relate to it. I told her most of my posts go something like this One week - I got injured AGAIN, screw you derby you're not going to get the better of me. I'm such a fangirl of Brig, Cherry and Jilla. Man I would love to bout NRDL one day. I went up to Newy on the weekend for a bout and/or social skate. Next week - Yay back on skates, I got the better of this latest injury. I headed up to Newy again for a skate and/or bout. Jilla's freaking awesome, did I mention I want to bout against NRDL one day...and repeat :P Sound familiar haha. Do people really relate to that?
I may have some ridiculously high derby goals I'd love to achieve by the end of the year but there's some amazing opportunities coming up that'll hopefully help me get there. Apart from my normal training I've lined up a day to have some one on one training with Jilla, she won't tell me what she has in mind so I have no idea what she plans on teaching me, there's a few intraleague scrimmages HARD have with other leagues that I'll be able to participate in if i get my clearance to scrimmage, Candy said I can come up and scrimmage with her guys at CKO and Danger's in the process of trying to organise a bootcamp between us, Newy and WIRD which may involve scrimmage at the end of it. Read that I might get the chance to scrimmage with my guys against NRDL. I started the year training with NRDL, imagine ending the year scrimmaging against them? Mind blown just thinking about it :)
Monday, August 5, 2013
Welcome back fucker!
After the uncertainty about which level I would be going to in derby I got my answer on Friday. The relevant parties decided I could stay at Sergeant level but I wasn't allowed to scrimmage or bout until I had been cleared by the head ref and training committee. I was over the moon with that, instead of dropping back down to Corporal level I could concentrate on working my fitness and skill levels up and eventually tackle the Lieutenant's level when I was ready. It was a weight off my shoulders and it felt nice to have a win with derby.
What a first training session to come back to. While I was over the worst of the cold, my nose and chest were blocked so it made trying to breathe just that more fun...not. The first thing we did was a 5 minute endurance. My form was a little sloppy but there's nothing more training and regaining 'match fitness' won't fix. I got 21 laps which I was happy with because that was what I was averaging before I got that miracle 25 in 5 for my assessment, so I haven't lost too much.
Butters ran the training session and there was lots of two minute drills. I really struggled with the knee taps because I had to avoid squats and lunges during rehab on my knee injury so I got weak in that area. I'm mindful that I need to ease myself back into that because my knee is probably still a little weak. I always knew it was going to be tough coming back to proper training after a lengthy injury layoff but it served as a good reminder not to get too far ahead of myself with dreams of bouting. There's lots of work to do before I get to that stage.
The blocking drills were lots of fun. I loved being amongst the action again. There were a few hair raising moments but I think I went ok for my first session, I may have even nudged Butters off the track at one stage. What better way to test yourself out then coming up against Cherry. If she really wanted to block me hard I'd still be picking myself up off of the floor but it was a nice little confidence booster being able to stay on the track and on my feet when she blocked me for the most part. My body was aching from general soreness by the end of the session but there was no pain in my knee WIN!
Saturday was my usual trip up to Newy (I've come to the realisation it would probably be cheaper if I just moved up there). My Smasho's weren't playing but I was looking forward to watching a Newy bout where I could just sit back and enjoy the action and not worry about the scoreboard. For those who love the all action, ridiculously high scoring jams the first half wouldn't have been your cup of tea but I absolutely loved it. It was strategy heaven. There was bugger all power jams so it was all about quick jams. The Hellcats actually had more players than their opposition for the first time in a long time and they had a slim lead lead going into half time.
It was more of the same in the second but then the Hellcats started giving away some power jams and then it was the Bogey's opening up bit of a gap which proved more than enough to get them over the line. This season the Hellcats have reminded me of the Smashleys from season's passed. So close but power jams stuff them up in the end. I know I keep harping on about this but I am in love with Danger's blocking. She more than lives up to her derby name. She doesn't need to lay on a Hollywood hit (but she can easily put skaters on their arse if need be) but she just nullify's them to perfection. Dare I say it her blocking is about as effective as Jilla's backwards blocking. HUGE CALL I know but that's how much I rate Danger's blocking. I'd love to learn to block like that.
Sunday's training was more of a relaxed session since the majority of our advanced skaters were scrimmaging against CCRG. It was a good session to shake the cobwebs out and do some of the basics. For the last half an hour we got to work on whatever we liked so I decided to start tackling learning how to transition on the inside. I was pretty shite at that but I want to learn how to do them so I did what I did when I learnt how to transition on the outside, I kept going up and down a line and practising them. It started to get a bit better so I know if I keep at it I'll eventually be able to do them.
I know the running joke in derby is that derby will take over your life and I'll admit I'm guilty of that too, it's only recently that I've noticed it's starting to come at a personal cost for me. I doubt anyone can question my commitment to derby but I feel as though I've overcommitted in some areas of it. I don't need to prove I'm a superfan by going to bouts every weekend and I have actually cut back on the amount of bouts I've been to this year. My commitment to training won't drop at all, I just need to find a better life/derby balance because there's other thing's going on behind the scenes that also need my attention before it's too late.
Speaking of training, since my knee has started responding well to training again (I got positive feedback from the physio tonight!), I am actually looking forward to slowly increasing my non-derby and derby exercise levels. I'm not content with just passing my Lieutenant's level and getting a spot on the 'kazi's. I'm actually quite happy that there is going to be competition for spots on the team now due to number's. I feel that's where I'm at my best - healthy competition because it makes me work as hard as I can which leads me to my next point.
I think ERRD has probably come around too soon for me but I'm still hoping that we'll have a family and friend's bout or even launch our home team's by the end of the year because I really would love to be able to bout by the end of the year. The first half of the year pre-injury was the best I've had in derby to date, I was on the verge of bouting. I would like to finish the year just as strongly so at the end of the Newy bout on Saturday I asked Jilla if it was possible to get some one on one lessons with her during the Newy social skates on Saturday morning's. I offered to pay her for her time, unfortunately for me it came out wrong so I quickly tried correcting myself. Jilla said she was happy to help, payment free which was nice of her :) I got a lot out of the two NRDL training sessions I went to earlier this year that she ran so I've got no doubt I'd learn even more from her. Just to be able to learn from someone of Jilla's calibre is huge. There will be no fangirling I promise hehe. I'm waiting until I'm fully back in the swing of things derby wise before I line up any training sessions with her because I have no doubt she'll push me way passed my comfort zone.
As silly as this sounds I wouldn't have been crushed even if Jilla said no. One of the big things for me was that I actually asked her in the first place. I acknowledge I've got stunted social skills and that I'm quite shy and it's something I've hid behind for many year's as a way to excuse why I might not have asked for something and just kept my mouth shut. I have been working on this area recently because I don't want to use it as an a excuse when I might end up passing up on a amazing opportunity such as getting to train with Jilla.
Once again there was lots happening in the world of derby. Cherry summed it up best. While I was putting my gear in the car after training on Friday night, Cherry drove past and said to me 'Welcome back fucker!' that's when I knew - I was back! :D
What a first training session to come back to. While I was over the worst of the cold, my nose and chest were blocked so it made trying to breathe just that more fun...not. The first thing we did was a 5 minute endurance. My form was a little sloppy but there's nothing more training and regaining 'match fitness' won't fix. I got 21 laps which I was happy with because that was what I was averaging before I got that miracle 25 in 5 for my assessment, so I haven't lost too much.
Butters ran the training session and there was lots of two minute drills. I really struggled with the knee taps because I had to avoid squats and lunges during rehab on my knee injury so I got weak in that area. I'm mindful that I need to ease myself back into that because my knee is probably still a little weak. I always knew it was going to be tough coming back to proper training after a lengthy injury layoff but it served as a good reminder not to get too far ahead of myself with dreams of bouting. There's lots of work to do before I get to that stage.
The blocking drills were lots of fun. I loved being amongst the action again. There were a few hair raising moments but I think I went ok for my first session, I may have even nudged Butters off the track at one stage. What better way to test yourself out then coming up against Cherry. If she really wanted to block me hard I'd still be picking myself up off of the floor but it was a nice little confidence booster being able to stay on the track and on my feet when she blocked me for the most part. My body was aching from general soreness by the end of the session but there was no pain in my knee WIN!
Saturday was my usual trip up to Newy (I've come to the realisation it would probably be cheaper if I just moved up there). My Smasho's weren't playing but I was looking forward to watching a Newy bout where I could just sit back and enjoy the action and not worry about the scoreboard. For those who love the all action, ridiculously high scoring jams the first half wouldn't have been your cup of tea but I absolutely loved it. It was strategy heaven. There was bugger all power jams so it was all about quick jams. The Hellcats actually had more players than their opposition for the first time in a long time and they had a slim lead lead going into half time.
It was more of the same in the second but then the Hellcats started giving away some power jams and then it was the Bogey's opening up bit of a gap which proved more than enough to get them over the line. This season the Hellcats have reminded me of the Smashleys from season's passed. So close but power jams stuff them up in the end. I know I keep harping on about this but I am in love with Danger's blocking. She more than lives up to her derby name. She doesn't need to lay on a Hollywood hit (but she can easily put skaters on their arse if need be) but she just nullify's them to perfection. Dare I say it her blocking is about as effective as Jilla's backwards blocking. HUGE CALL I know but that's how much I rate Danger's blocking. I'd love to learn to block like that.
Sunday's training was more of a relaxed session since the majority of our advanced skaters were scrimmaging against CCRG. It was a good session to shake the cobwebs out and do some of the basics. For the last half an hour we got to work on whatever we liked so I decided to start tackling learning how to transition on the inside. I was pretty shite at that but I want to learn how to do them so I did what I did when I learnt how to transition on the outside, I kept going up and down a line and practising them. It started to get a bit better so I know if I keep at it I'll eventually be able to do them.
I know the running joke in derby is that derby will take over your life and I'll admit I'm guilty of that too, it's only recently that I've noticed it's starting to come at a personal cost for me. I doubt anyone can question my commitment to derby but I feel as though I've overcommitted in some areas of it. I don't need to prove I'm a superfan by going to bouts every weekend and I have actually cut back on the amount of bouts I've been to this year. My commitment to training won't drop at all, I just need to find a better life/derby balance because there's other thing's going on behind the scenes that also need my attention before it's too late.
Speaking of training, since my knee has started responding well to training again (I got positive feedback from the physio tonight!), I am actually looking forward to slowly increasing my non-derby and derby exercise levels. I'm not content with just passing my Lieutenant's level and getting a spot on the 'kazi's. I'm actually quite happy that there is going to be competition for spots on the team now due to number's. I feel that's where I'm at my best - healthy competition because it makes me work as hard as I can which leads me to my next point.
I think ERRD has probably come around too soon for me but I'm still hoping that we'll have a family and friend's bout or even launch our home team's by the end of the year because I really would love to be able to bout by the end of the year. The first half of the year pre-injury was the best I've had in derby to date, I was on the verge of bouting. I would like to finish the year just as strongly so at the end of the Newy bout on Saturday I asked Jilla if it was possible to get some one on one lessons with her during the Newy social skates on Saturday morning's. I offered to pay her for her time, unfortunately for me it came out wrong so I quickly tried correcting myself. Jilla said she was happy to help, payment free which was nice of her :) I got a lot out of the two NRDL training sessions I went to earlier this year that she ran so I've got no doubt I'd learn even more from her. Just to be able to learn from someone of Jilla's calibre is huge. There will be no fangirling I promise hehe. I'm waiting until I'm fully back in the swing of things derby wise before I line up any training sessions with her because I have no doubt she'll push me way passed my comfort zone.
As silly as this sounds I wouldn't have been crushed even if Jilla said no. One of the big things for me was that I actually asked her in the first place. I acknowledge I've got stunted social skills and that I'm quite shy and it's something I've hid behind for many year's as a way to excuse why I might not have asked for something and just kept my mouth shut. I have been working on this area recently because I don't want to use it as an a excuse when I might end up passing up on a amazing opportunity such as getting to train with Jilla.
Once again there was lots happening in the world of derby. Cherry summed it up best. While I was putting my gear in the car after training on Friday night, Cherry drove past and said to me 'Welcome back fucker!' that's when I knew - I was back! :D
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